Various methods, which may secure a vehicle in a specific position and prevent rolling of the vehicle, are known under the names “driving off assistant,” “hill assistant,” “hill hold,” or “automatic hold.” These methods are based on hydraulic, mechanical, or pneumatic electronically controllable brake systems. In all of these methods, for example, a brake is activated by actuating the brake pedal or the hand brake or via actuating elements connected thereto. The activation is performed via the same or also other aids (for example, a gas pedal, a clutch, etc.). Deactivation after elapse of a specific holding time is also known. If a deactivation condition exists, the braking effect is reduced until it is completely canceled. As a result, for example, a vehicle stopped on an inclined roadway accelerates, and does it at different rates as a function of the current roadway inclination.
A brake system having such a hill holder function is discussed, for example, in German patent documents nos. DE 103 22 125 A1 or DE 103 51 147 B3. In addition, DE 102 50 719 A1 discusses a system in which the holding time is a function of the longitudinal inclination of the motor vehicle, to thus provide more time to the driver for the driving off procedure on a steep hill.